The invention pertains to a shock resistant lighting fixture and in particular an electric shock resistant tungsten halogen fixture. The present invention provides a novel means of relamping a lighting fixture with a tubular lighting element.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,126 discloses a lighting fixture with a relamping socket apparatus. A hinged bracket is provided for permitting the swinging away of at least one socket to permit easy access to an elongated double ended bulb for relamping purposes. Sockets are each spring loaded and partly biased against the bulb in the open relamp position and firmly biased against the bulb in the position of use.
Other references show sockets being movable from one position to another for insertion of a lamp or in which portion of the fixture is movable to provide easy insertion as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,767; 3,909,100; and 4,323,953.
Various configurations of spring loaded sockets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,842,535; 4,597,035; 4,422,712; 3,685,003; 3,426,312; and 4,070,570.
Lamp holders with permanently positioned sockets for tungsten halogen lamps are disclosed in U.S. Pat Nos. 4,322,783; 4,536,832; and 4,288,846. These structures are typical of the prior art structures in which the ends of the tungsten halogen lamp are securely attached to terminals of the sockets.
The present invention combines in a housing at least one spring loaded socket for receiving a first end of a tube lighting element and a cavity disposed in the housing nearto a second socket for receiving a second end of the tubular lighting element such that the tubular lighting element can be first inserted at the second end into the cavity, positioned at its first end into the first tube socket, compressing the first tube socket with the first end by proceeding the tube lighting element out of the cavity, and then swinging the second end of the tube element into the second socket, whereupon the spring loaded first socket exerts axial force on the tube element to compress the tube element into the second socket. Such an arrangement is advantageous to maneuver the tubular lighting element into the respective sockets.
The prior art cited above discloses the use of spring loaded sockets for use with lamps, such as tungsten halogen lamps, as used in the submitted invention. However, none of the references discloses the features of the cavity located in the casting of the fixture nearto a fixed socket and opposite a spring loaded socket, such that the lamp can be inserted into the cavity at one end and then into the spring loaded socket at another end and, after compressing the spring, can be removed from the cavity and placed into the fixed socket.